Stocks closed lower on Friday, thereby stalling their recent rally as February’s jobs report exceeded Wall Street Expectations. 275,000 jobs were added last month, with the unemployment rate rising to 3.9%; its first increase in four months.
The benchmark S&P 500 slumped by 0.7%, retreating from another record close on Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tanked by 1.2%, with heavy-hitting chipmaker Nvidia retreating by over 5% to retreat from a record-breaking rally.
With the February jobs report beating expectations, the latest employment data has boosted investors’ confidence that the Federal Reserve will introduce interest rate cuts later in the year, with the latest expectations being that the central bank will implement its first cut after its June meeting.